Why did my chicken die?

[ericnash]

I locked my 5, one year old birds up last night and this morning, Shelly my chicken was found dead! Once I removed her from her nesting box (where she died), I found that she had laid her last egg. I buried her with the egg.

I am concerned that my 4 other chickens may be at risk! Has anyone ever experienced this and if so should I be concerned and can I continue to the eggs from my 4 other chickens?

I recently scrapped the back of my barn from loose paint and I am a little concerned that she may have had lead poisoning. Would this make sense? I put a plastic tarp down and swept up all the pieces of paint I could find, but i am worried that she may have ate some.

If you have any ideas, please help.

Shelly was a beautiful bird, who produced an egg almost every. We named her Shelly because she always had speckled calcium deposits on the outside of her eggs. She was friendly and will be greatly missed!

 

[peepmommy]

I am so sorry that you lost her... Was the egg a normal egg? Could she have been egg bound? I amnot too sure about the paint being the culprit. They will eat paint, but probably won't eat enough of it. My chickens have pecked a ton of paint off my garage ( they are free range) and they have never gotten sick. Could she have gotten into something else? I wish I could help you in any way, just keep an eye on the rest of your chicks and make sure they are eating/pooping/active and not lethargic. Good luck!

 

[ericnash]

Thank you! They have all been active and Shelly has been her normal self. She did not have an impacted egg and it looked like hers always do!

Thank you for your comment on the paint chips not being a concern. I think it may have been her time.

 

[sumi]

So sorry you lost her

I've lost hens for no apparent reason and then one day the state vet asked me if he can send one for an autopsy. She had worms. There was no clues, no signs. We suspect they got them from some chickens I got from a "friend" who wasn't taking enough care of his flock. I dewormed my flock and they've been fine since.

 

[carladababe]

My heart goes out to you and your little chicken. I recently lost one of my Black Jersey Giants to something. Found her under a nest, and I had just checked on them a couple hours earlier. No signs of any illness, didn't show signs of being egg bound. She did have an egg that I found, a small one. Like you I buried the egg with my beloved chicken, along with a little travel food; some scratch, some cracked corn, tomatoes and a bit of cantaloupe. Cried like a baby. The rest of the flock is doing just fine. It's sad to lose a loved one.

 

[ericnash]

Thank you, for the support. It was very difficult news for my oldest daughter who has become very fond of our flock.

I am surprised that the rest of the birds do not seem to be looking for their companion. They are walking around like business as usual.

 

[TrystInn]

Its always sad when you lose a bird, especially so when its a favorite. A deworming is always a good idea after a surprise loss, especially if its not a regular thing for your flock. Have you tried DE? We generally use it once a week during the regular coop cleaning, sprinkling it around with the new shavings. I also put a little in their dusting baths, though they use multiple locations around the yard, those creative darlings!

 

[ericnash]

Thank you for the tips! The more I have been reading the more I am thinking it could be worms. I will do get dewormer in the a.m.

 

[Cindy in PA]

Sorry for your loss, but chickens die, many times for no known reason. I read, many years ago when starting out, that chicken mortality is 10%/year. With my usual flock of 12, that would mean 1 per year. Only once or twice in 19 years have I ever lost even one in a year, but it happens. I have mostly lost hens when they are starting to lay or starting again after molt, but with all they go through, there can be many reasons. Just watch your flock and go from there.

 

[ericnash]

I just lost another one today so I don't think it is b/c they just die!